“BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT LIFE LESSON YOU GET FROM A SWING IS THAT AFTER EVERY DOWN, THE SWING ALWAYS COMES BACK UP. ALWAYS” –Mrs. Darcy, Mr. Darcy’s Promise

One of the things I do as an author is I try to have a metaphor or two in my book. I figured that Christ taught in parables and the reason was to be able to understand a difficult topic and relate it to something we can easily understand. In Mr. Darcy’s Promise, I use two metaphors throughout the book to strengthen and deepen the plot. One is a chicken metaphor. “Chicken?” you ask? Yes, a chicken metaphor. They can be very romantic, I’ll have you know. And this particular chicken metaphor has Darcy very confused. The other metaphor I use is a swing metaphor. Although I would love to share both with you, there is only time to share the swing metaphor. I thought I would give you a sample reading of Mr. Darcy’s Promise which is due out in July. And since we just finished the first round of edits on it, (yippee!!!! Thanks Camie Schaefer! You are an awesome editor!) I feel it is time to share a bit with you all. Round 2 and 3 of the edits should go much quicker. Here is a little background on the setting that this takes place. Elizabeth was forced to marry Darcy before she knew he loved her and before she fell in love with him. They have a unique relationship and their courtship which would normally take place prior to marriage, occurs after marriage. But from the very beginning, Elizabeth starts having dreams of Mr. Darcy pushing her on a swing under a cedar tree. At this point in the book, although both are in love with each other, neither has directly declared themselves. Elizabeth asks Mr. Darcy if Pemberley has a swing and he promises to search for the perfect spot to put one (thus the reference to the map). With that explanation, here is the sample reading from my book:

Mr. Darcy met her eyes. Would they someday share more than a flock of chicks between them? He held her gaze for a moment before he cut her a slice of cake. “Here, eat a little something.” She took a bite, the knot in her stomach loosening a bit as she did so. She ate briefly making light conversation until her cake was finished. “Well, let us see that map! I have always loved swinging. There is something about it that is invigorating. I used to swing when I was troubled when I was too young to go out walking on my own. I loved the whole experience.” She looked at him with a curious little smile. “Pray, Mr. Darcy, have you ever truly contemplated the image of a swing?” Her eyes were so bright. This was a part of her that he treasured dearly; her sharp wit, her clever observations, and he would do anything to hear her speak. “I am afraid, Mrs. Darcy, that you shall have to enlighten me on such matters. I confess I have never given much thought to a child’s plaything before. Do not, however, imagine that my omission makes me any less of a deep thinker.” She saw the mirth in his eyes and began to explain. “Well it is not so much a parallel as a metaphor. Life has many ups and downs. Sometimes we struggle with trials, or gravity in the swing’s case, and feel low and heavy. It even looks like we will hit the rocks below us. That moment where we think we can get no lower is very difficult. We feel the weight of our trials the worst at that moment and we do not have the perspective to see a way out. But the most important part about a swing is after the lows, after the trials and hardships we face, the swing always goes up. Always. Life always gets better. In fact, because we are so faithful and used our strength to pump ourselves during the lowest spot we are rewarded with two very important things. “The first is perspective. As it swings up we are high enough to see a perspective that we could not get during the low part. We can see everything. In fact, I like to swing high enough that the ropes that tie us are not even in my peripheral vision and I feel like am just flying in the air. “That brings me to the second important reward. As we reach that peak, we are weightless for just a moment. All that irritates, like the ropes or seat of the chair in the swings case, or trials or things that make us anxious in life’s case, it all just disappears for a moment and we are free from all that binds us. We feel nothing, not even gravity weighing us down. It is a moment that I relish. To have perspective and be weightless at the same time is indescribable. So yes, life is like being on a swing. We can just sit there at the lowest spot and be miserable or we can fight and struggle and pump ourselves to a position that allows us to see things in a better light. But the most important life lesson you get from a swing is that after every down, the swing always comes back up. Always. Life can be hard but it always gets better.” She sat and watched him, his eyes intently focused on hers. Mr. Darcy was silent for a moment. He had never seen the depth of conviction that she had just demonstrated to him. She was always intelligent and wise in his mind, but to have spent so much time correlating a simple swing to help her understand life’s problems was beyond anything he could have come up with on his own. “You are beyond amazing, Elizabeth. And I must admit I lied to you again.” She knew this game now, and smiled at him. “And what might be the truth?” “You are most definitely a deeper thinker than I am. I must remember that when I try to understand you. I have to admit that a swing has always been just a swing to me.” And a chicken has always been a farm animal, but to her it was more. He would need to remember her cleverness and powers of observation if he was to make sense of the chickens. “If you are going to keep lying to me, you might just alter my opinion of you,” she teased. He was most anxious to hear what her opinion of him was. “And what might your opinion of me be that would be so altered?” “That you are trustworthy.” She gave him her best smile. He had, in his heart of hearts, been hoping for more, but trustworthy? He could live with that opinion. It was better than proud. He had made every attempt to be trustworthy with her, and he was grateful he had gotten that across. He stood up, took her arm and tucked it into his. “Let me show you the map.”

I hope you enjoyed the swing metaphor. This occurs at a very climactic moment in the book. And just as Elizabeth describes how the lowest part of a swing feels like you are going to hit the rocks below you, so the plot turns and takes you on similar feelings. Their relationship and courtship has traveled the entire pendulum that a swing makes throughout the book and just like she describes, they reach that weightless happily ever after, eventually. (OF COURSE! Would I write it any other way?) If you enjoyed this, read the first chapter on this website. Then take the poll at the end. Here is the link.http://www.heyladypublications.com/mr-darcys-promise.html Jeanna Ellsworth Hey Lady Publications

If you are going to arrange any party either wedding or birthday and don't have any idea then it is in vain until you get the services of trusted event organizers. We are decorating your events as our own and according to your desire.

Fine this is very remarkable indeed. I love to read a little about this particular topic. Great Article. Its really very informatics blog, I just wanted to say that I found this precious blog with the help of Google.

This blog is great i love reading your posts. Keep up the great work! You know, a lot of people are hunting around for this info, you could help them greatly.

Reply

Leave a Reply.

About the Author

Jeanna is a mother of three daughters, all whom are well versed in Pride and Prejudice; they are her best friends and the inspiration for her writing. She also proudly states she is the eighth of thirteen children. When she isn’t blogging, gardening, cooking, or raising chickens—or more realistically, writing—she is thoroughly ignoring her house for a few hours at a time in order to read yet another romance novel. Somewhere between being a mom, sister, writer, and cook, she squeezes in three 12-hour shifts each week as a Registered Nurse in a Neurological ICU. She finds great joy in her writing and claims she has never been happier.

Jeanna fell in love again with Jane Austen when she was introduced to the incredible world of Jane Austen inspired fiction. She can never adequately thank the fellow authors who mentored her and encouraged her to write her first novel. Through writing, Jeanna has gained something that no one can take away from her: hope for her own Mr. Darcy. More than anything, she hopes to prepare her three best friends to look for their own Mr. Darcy and to settle for nothing less. Jeanna’s works include: Mr. Darcy’s Promise, Pride and Persistence, To Refine Like Silver, Hope For Mr. Darcy, and Hope For Fitzwilliam. She is eagerly working on her first attempt at an original Regency romance novel: Inspired By Grace. For more information on these books, please visit her website, www.HeyLadyPublications.com